Bottle washing machinery



Aug. 25, 1942. F. P. PERKINS BOTTLE WASHING MACHINERY Filed May 9, 1941 heets-Sheet 1 l '/3 INVENTOR EIM/Wr i? Pff/WM5.

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Aug. Z5, 1942. F. P. PERKINS BOTTLE WASHING MACHINERY 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 9, 1941 INVENTOR. Ffa/wf P /D /P/f/A/. w, MAM/Z' WQ A 7" TOR/VZV.

Aug.. Z5, 1942. F.-P. PERKINS, 2,293,917

BOTTLE WASHING MACHINERY Filed' May 9, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 BY Y, www@ ATTORNEY.

Patented ug. 25, 1942 UNITED STATES BOTTLE WASHING MACHINERY Frank P. Perkins, Waukesha, Wis., assignor to Michael Yundt Company, Waukesha, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application May 9, 1941, Serial No. 392,676

9 Claims.

YThis invention relates to an improvement in bottle-washing machinery of the type wherein the bottles are carried through a, soaking tank, an external brushing mechanism, an internal brushing means and suitable rinsers by a motordriven conveyor vhaving endless chains carrying individual pockets or compartments for the bottles. The external brushing mechanism includes rotary cleaning brushes disposed above the conveyor. The gearing interposed between the conveyor and its driving motor is of such character as to move the conveyor with step-by-step motion, and during the intervals, when it is at rest, vertically movable bottle-lifting spindles are actuated to engage and lift bottles from the pockets or compartments of the conveyor and pass them between and against the rotary brushes. 'The action is a timed or synchronized one, and if bottles for any reason jam in the instrumentalities making up the external brushing mechanism, :serious breakage or damage to the machine and loss of production results. Any such jamming -of the bottles results in a buckling of the endless chains of the conveyor, and the present invention proposes to take advantage of this buckling to automatically stop the machine when such conditions obtain.

In carrying out the present invention, a shoe is .provided which rides on a run of the endless or ilexible chain conveyor, and is so constituted and related to the conveyor that when the latter buckles upon jamming of the machine, the shoe is .elevated or shifted. Such elevation or shifting of the shoe is utilized to operate a control device in such manner as to automatically stop the machine.

The control device preferably includes an electric switch which may be advantageously biased tovclosed position. A switch-operating lever is combined with the switch and is normally inactive, but when swung in one direction is ef- Iective to open the switch. A rotary cam is pro- 'yided and is cooperatively related to the lever so that when rotated it swings the lever in the Irlirection to open the switch. The cam is interfconnected with the shoe by means of suitable linkage or motion transmission mechanism, and vthis in such manner that when the shoe is eleyated or shifted by the buckling of the endless A.ilex'ible or chain conveyor, the cam will be rotated to swing the lever in the direction to open the switch.

The switch may exercise lcontrol over the ma- -Lchine in a number of ways. For example, it may ,be incorporated in an electric circuit includingthe electromagnetic winding of a contactor incorporated in the, motor circuit for the driving motor for the conveyor. In such a control sys- -tem the arrangement is such that as long as the control switch is closed the winding of the contactor is energized and the motor circuit is closed so that the motor runs. However, upon opening of the control switch the winding of the contactor is deenergized and the motor circuit is automatically opened and the machine stopped.

Another type of control device contemplated by the present invention is one wherein the control switch is incorporated in an electric circuit including a solenoid, with the solenoid combined With a clutch incorporated in the gearing between the driving motor and the endless conveyor in such manner that when the solenoid is energized it functions to engage the clutch, and when deenergized it provides for disengagement of the clutch and consequent stoppage of the machine.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a device of this character which is extremely simple and compact in its construction, reliable and effective in operation,'easy and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and install, and of such nature as not to interfere with or impair in any way the normal functioning of the machine although Valways ready for action should the undesirable jamming occur.

Other objects and advantages reside in certain novel features of the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which: Y

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view in side elevation with parts broken away and shown in section for the sake of illustration, and showing the external brushing mechanism of a bottle-Washing machine and the manner in which the automatic stopping device of the present invention is combined therewith;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary View in top plan of the structure shown in Figure 1, with parts of the enclosing casing for the brush-actuating chain and sprocket gearing removed;

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2 and showing how the shoe and the other elements interconnected therewith are positioned when the machine is functioning normally;

Figure 4 is a View similar to Figure 3 but showing one of the chains buckled and the shoe elevated to open the control switch and stop the machine;

Figure 5 is an elementary diagram illustrating how the motor is combined with the endless conveyor and with the automatic stopping device of the present invention; and

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 but showing a, different way in which the automatic stopping device may exercise its control over the conveyor drive. A

Referring to the drawings, the numeral IU designates one of the endless chains of the endless conveyor employed for carrying the bottles through the machine. Only one of the chains is shown, but it will be understood that there is one at each side of the machine and that they are of identical construction. The upper run of each chain I has its rollers riding on a track |2 which is supported on a frame member I3 of the machine and may take the form of a bar of angle cross section. Bottle carriers l5 are provided and extend transversely of the machine and have individual compartments or pockets I6 for the bottles. Each carrier |5 is fixed at one end to a link i4 of the adjacent conveyor chain |0. s s

The endless conveyor is driven in any suitable manner from an electric motor |1 (see Figure 5). The details of the gearing for driving the conveyor I8 with a step-by-step motion from the motor |1 per se form no part of the present invention, and hence this is only diagrammatically illustrated in VFigure 5. As there shown, the armature shaft of the motor acts through chain and sprocket gearing 8V to drive ashaft I9. On one end of the shaft |9 a one-toothed driving gear vis, iixedrandacts to drive a four-slotted gear 2| fixed to ashaft22 which carries the driving sprockets (not shown) for the endless conveyor of chains IG. to that shown and described in the patent to Stock No. 1,729,193, although the type of external brushing mechanism contemplated in the present case dilers from that shown in said patent.

A hand-,operated switch, designated diagrammatically at 22, is provided in thel motor circuit for the motor |1, which is diagrammatically represented as comprising power lines 23 and 24.

In one illustrative application a contactor 25 is incorporated in the circuit of the motor |1 and its movable contact 26 is biased to open position by means of 4a spring 26. However, when the hand switch 22 is closed, the movable contact 26 of thecontactor 25is normally automatically closed by ther electro-magnetier winding 28 of the contactor 25. The electro-magnetic coil28 has one terminal connected by a conductor 29 to one side of the line, and has its other terminal connected by a conductor 21 to the contact 38 of a control switch, designated generally at 3|.

This control switch 3| also has a contact 32 connected by a conductor 33 to the other power line 24. A bridging contact 34 is cooperable with the contacts 3|] and32, and when engaged therewith completes the circuit vthrough the electromagnetic winding 28 to bring contact 26 to closed position and complete the motor circuit. A spring 35, or other suitable means, biases the bridging Contact 34 to closed position. The bridging contact 34 is provided with an operating button 31 of insulating material, which pr jects out through an opening in the housing 38 of the control switch A3| and lies in the path of movement of an adjustable abutment 39 of the switch-operating lever 40.

The switch-operating lever 4D is fulcrumed, as at 4|, on a bracket 42 carried by the housing 38 of the control switch 3|. Gravity tends to swing the switch-operating lever '42 Vaway from the operating button 31 of the control switch`3| and to cause an intermediate portion vofthis lever to bear or wipe against an Voperating cam 43 provided therefor. The cam 43 is This mechanism islsimilar fixed to a rotatable cam shaft 44 supported in suitable bearings 45 provided therefor on the bracket 42. A crank arm 45 is also xed to this shaft 44 and has its outer end connected by means of a link 41 with a long lever arm 48, the link being pivotally connected to the arm 46 at one end and at its opposite end to one end of the lever arm 48. The other end of lever arm 48 is fixed to a rock shaft 49 rotatably supported in bearings provided therefor on the extension 50' of the housing 5B for the external brush mechanism to be hereinafter described. An elongated shoe 5|, which is disposed lengthwise of the upper run of one of the endless conveyor chains I0, and which has upturned and rounded ends 52, rides on its run of the conveyor chain and has fixed thereto a transversely extending plate-like arm 53 which is secured to the shaft 43. The shoe 5| Vand its plate-like arm 53 are heavier than the lever arm 48 and parts connected to the upper end thereof and bias the lever a'rm 48 to engage a stop lug 54 when the shoe 5| is in normal (nonelevated) position.

The external brushing mechanism (per se, wellknown in the art) is made up of rotary brushes which are driven in any suitable manner, an'd which overlie the upper run of the endless conveyor. This external brushing mechanism also includes vertically movable washing spindles 6|, which, when the conveyor is at rest, are automatically moved upwardly to engage the bottles, lift them from pockets I6, and pass them between and against the brushes Si). If any of the bottles, while being so operated upon by the external brushing mechanism, 'should jam the mechanism, the endless conveyor chain will be elevated from the position shown 'in Figure 3 to the position shown in Figure 4. This will elevate the shoe 5I and act through its arm 53, shaft 49, lever arm 48, link 41, crank arm 46, shaft '44,

and cam 43, to swing the lever 40 in 'a clockwise direction from the position shown in Figure 3 to the position shown in Figure 4, thereby opening the switch 3| since the bridging 'contact `34 is shifted away from the contacts 3D and 32 thereof. This deenergizes the winding 28 of the contactor 25 and allows the spring 26 to-move the Contact 26 to open position, thereby stopping the motor. When the conditions causing the jamming are corrected, the device automatically resets itself.

The control switch 3|, its operating lever 40, the control shoe 5I, and the linkage between the control vshoe and the cam`43 which operates the switch lever, may also be utilized to stop the machine when combined with an electromagnetically or solenoid controlled clutch incorporated in the drive line or gearing provided between the motor |1 and the endless chain conveyor of the machine. 4For example, 'as shown in Figure 6, these parts may be provided asbefore, but the contactor 25 is omitted, and inits place the coil or winding'1 of a solenoid or the like may be substituted. rAs indicated, the contact 30 of the control switch 3| maybe connected by a wire 1I to one terminal of the winding or coil 10, whereas the other terminal of this coil or winding is connected by conductor 12 to one side of the power'line. Thefcore orplunger 13 of the solenoid' may be operatively interconnected with the operating mechanismf14- ofthe clutch shown diagrammatically at 15 and-suitably incorporated in the drivegearing 'between the motor |1 and thc'conveyor.

The drawings illustrate the jaw clutch -merely for 'thesake Vof simplicity in illustration. An'y suitable type of clutch may be employed. Likewise, any appropriate electromagnetic operating mechanism therefor may be utilized.

While I have shown and described several constructions in which the invention may be advantageously embodied, it is to be understood that the constructions shown have been selected merely for the purpose of illustration or example, and that various changes in the size, shape, and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A bottle-washing machine having an endless chain conveyor for carrying the bottles through the machine in an inverted position, motordriven means for imparting a step-by-step movement to said endless chain conveyor, external brush mechanism for the bottles including rotary brushes disposed above the conveyor and bottlelifting spindles beneath the conveyor for engaging and lifting the bottles against the brushes, and mechanism for automatically stopping the action of the motor-driven means upon jamming of the external brushing mechanism and consequent buckling of the endless chains of the conveyor and comprising a control switch for the motor, an operating lever for said switch eifective to control the opening and closing thereof, a cam for actuating said operating lever, a shoe riding on a run of the conveyor and elevated thereby when the conveyor buckles upon jamming of the external brushing mechanism, and motion transmission means operatively interconnecting said shoe and said cam.

2. A bottle-washing machine having an endless chain conveyor including a horizontal run for carrying the bottles in an inverted position, a track upon which said horizontal run travels, motor-driven means for moving said conveyor with a step-by-step motion, external brushing mechanism for the bottles including rotary brushes disposed above the conveyor, bottle-lifting spindles beneath the conveyor for engaging and bringing the bottles against the brushes, a shoe riding upon the top of the horizontal run of the conveyor and elevated thereby upon buckling of the chain consequent to jamming of the external brushing mechanism, a switch for controlling the operation of the motor, and motion transmission means between the shoe and the switch for automatically opening the switch to stop the action of said motor-driven means upon elevation of said shoe.

3. A bottle-washing machine having an endless chain conveyor for carrying the bottles through the machine in an inverted position, motor-driven means for imparting a step-by-step movement to said endless chain conveyor, external brushing mechanism for the bottles including rotary brushes above the conveyor and l bottle lifting spindles beneath the conveyor for engaging and lifting the bottles against the brushes, and mechanism for automatically stopping the action of the motor-driven means upon jamming of the external brushing mechanism and consequent buckling of the chain conveyor and comprising a shoe riding on a run of the endless chain conveyor, a control switch for the motor and linkage interconnecting the shoe and the switch and acting to automatically open the switch upon buckling of the chain.

4. A bottle-washing machine having a chain conveyor for carrying the bottles through the machine, motor-driven mechanism for actuating said conveyor, control means for said mechanism including a control switch, a shoe riding on a run of the conveyor and automatically shifted when the chain buckles -upon jamming of instrumentalities of the machine, and motion transmission mechanism interconnecting said shoe and said switch and acting to open the switch and stop the action of said motor-driven means when the shoe is shifted by the buckling of the chain.

5. A bottle-washing machine having a chain conveyor for carrying the bottles through the machine, motor-driven mechanism for actuating said conveyor, control means for said mechanism including a control switch, an operating lever for said switch effective to control the opening and closing thereof, a cam for actuating said operating lever, a shoe riding on a run of the conveyor and elevated thereby when the conveyor buckles upon jamming of the machine, and linkage operatively interconnecting said shoe and said cam.

6. A bottle-washing machine comprising an endless chain conveyor for carrying the bottles through the machine, electric motor-driven means for actuating the conveyor, control means for said motor including a control switch biased to closed position, a switch-operating lever acting when swung in one direction to open said switch and stop the machine, a shoe riding on a run of the conveyor and elevated thereby when the conveyor chain buckles upon jamming of the machine, and motion transmission means actuated by the shoe and connected to said lever to swing the lever in the direction to open the switch when the shoe is elevated.

7. A bottle-washing machine comprising an endless chain conveyor for carrying the bottles through the machine, motor-driven means for actuating the conveyor, a control device to start and stop said motor-driven means, an operator for said control device, a shoe riding on a run of the conveyor and elevated thereby when the conveyor chain buckles upon jamming of the machine, and motion transmission means actuated by the shoe and connected to the operator to cause the operator to shift the control device to a position to stop said motor-driven means when the shoe is elevated.

8. A bottle-washing machine including an endless flexible conveyor for carrying the bottles through the machine, said endless flexible conveyor buckling upon jamming of the machine, a shoe riding on the conveyor and shifted thereby upon buckling of said conveyor, and means actuated by the shifting of the shoe to automatically stop the machine.

9. A bottle-washing machine comprising an endless chain Iconveyor for carrying the bottles through the machine, motor-driven means for imparting a step-by-step movement to said endless chain conveyor, a clutch incorporated in said means, an electro-magnetic control for said clutch, a switch for regulating the action of said electro-magnetic control, a shoe riding on a run of the conveyor and shifted thereby when the conveyor buckles on jamming 0f the machine, and means actuated by the shoe and effective to operate the switch to cause disengagement of the clutch and stoppage of the machine when the shoe is shifted.

FRANK P. PERKINS. 

